INDYCAR: Dixon Stays Hot with Nashville Pole

Scott Dixon followed his win at Watkins Glen with the pole position five days later at Nashville Superspeedway.

Dixon recorded a fast lap of 22.8947 seconds Friday around the 1.3-mile oval — 204.414 mph — in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda/Dallara to knock Dario Franchitti from the No. 1 position. Franchitti, who leads Dixon by 47 points in the IndyCar Series standings, held on to second place and will start alongside Dixon when the Firestone Indy 200 begins Saturday shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET.

"We need to put pressure on the (Andretti Green Racing) guys anytime we can, leading sessions and leading qualifying," Dixon said. "Hopefully we'll have a good car in the race tomorrow. It's going to be tough to hold on. We're just going to have to wait and see."

Franchitti, the first driver on the track, held P1 for nearly half of the session at 22.9555 seconds in the No. 27 AGR Honda/Dallara before Dixon knocked him off.

"We tested her a few weeks ago, but we weren't happy with it," Franchitti said. "We didn't really learn much because the weather wasn't that great, but the car is pretty good."

Tony Kanaan and Sam Hornish Jr., who were involved in a brawl at the end of Sunday's race and were fined Tuesday by the Indy Racing League, will start third and fourth, respectively. "I don't think I had anything left in the car," Kanaan said. "We set a goal for qualifying, and we reached it."

Helio Castroneves and his Team Penske crew took a different tack when he encountered gearbox problems with the No. 3 Penske Honda/Dallara when it was about to roll through tech behind Franchitti. In a move that was part strategy and part necessity, Castroneves forfeited his place in line and instead decided to go for one lap at the end of the session.

He recorded a lap of 23.0068 seconds, good enough for sixth on the 18-car grid.

"We decided to pull out of line, take our time, go last and take our cvhances with one qualifying lap," Castroneves said. "Fortunately, we ran our best lap of the day in qualifying."

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As they have encountered in other races this season, drivers expect passing to be difficult in Saturday's race, which begins shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET.

"It's been very difficult to pass here, tougher than we've had in the past," Dixon said. "We'll just have to see how that plays out. Once it cools off at night, it might open up the second groove and give people the opportunity to pass."